Juniper care

Dr.Bonsai

Shondaroni wrote:
Hi Shondaroni,

Chinese Juniper (Juniperus chinensis) is very cold tolerant. _It is frequently listed as hardy to USDA Zone 4 (-25 to -30F). This is for garden plants whose roots are somewhat protected.
Boston is probably zone 5-6., Georgia is zone 7-8. If it died during a Georgia winter, it wasn't because of cold.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/thisoldhous...feature20a.html

Your juniper should be fine outdoors if you take some steps to protect it from wind and extreme exposure. Juniper can be grown indoors, but as you suspected, keeping up the humidity and light levels without having the soil dry out is going to be very difficult in a heated apartment or home.

Here are some tips for Juniper seasonal care, including overwintering.

http://www.stonelantern.com/per2.html

Having some exposed roots at the base of the tree isn't unusual. Wait to fertilize until spring when you see some new growing tips. Bonsai rarely perish from underfertilization. It is usually because they are poorly located and over/underwatered.

Happy growing,

Dr.Bonsai

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Dr. Bonsai, I'm planning on giving my boyfriend a Juniper Bonsai- beginner's bonsai. Will the tree suffer much if it isn't cared for 20 days- he'll be on a trip.

Thanks!

TreeBay

Hi Merce,

Yes it would be almost impossible to keep a juniper alive for nearly a month unattended. IF you had periodic rain, it might do OK, but rain isn't very reliable when you depend on it.

If you're not going on the trip, maybe you could present him with the tree and then care for it until his return? Another option would be to find someone who could look after it for you.

Regards,

Matt

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